Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti is taking out petitions to win a spot GOP gubernatorial August 12 primary.To get on the ballot, Lauretti, who only got 1 percent of convention delegates last Saturday, will have to obtain the signatures of 8,190 registered voters by a June 10 deadline.

First, his lawyer inquired Thursday morning about how Lauretti might refocus his dream of being governor to being lieutenant governor, but then the mayor decided to stay in the governor's race by trying to get enough signatures on a petition to enter the gubernatorial primary. He needs to collect 8,190 signatures of registered state voters by June 10 at 4 p.m.

A spokesman for Secretary of the State Denise Merrill had said Thursday afternoon Lauretti had dropped his gubernatorial bid and instead would focus on getting signatures to join the field in the primary for lieutenant governor.

"His lawyer was in our office this morning saying that he intends to withdraw his petitions for governor and file instead for lieutenant governor," said Av Harris, Merrill's spokesman, in response to a statement from Lauretti denying that he is lowering his expectations.

"He still has petitions for governor and has not filed for petitions for lieutenant governor," Harris said.

Lauretti got 1 percent support from delegates at the GOP state nominating convention on Saturday, when he needed 15 percent to force a primary. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, of Fairfield, both qualified for the primary.

"Going into the convention, I didn't have high expectations, and (convention nominee Tom) Foley has been involved for five years," Lauretti said in a phone interview. "Others had been involved for a couple of years. It is what it is. I filed my paperwork on Monday."

In the last campaign filing, he reported raising about half of the $250,000 needed for public financing.

Joe Visconti, of West Hartford, another long-shot GOP gubernatorial hopeful, who got 2 percent support at the convention, also took out petitions Thursday, Harris said.

If Lauretti and Visconti can round up enough signatures, it would mean a five-way primary on Aug. 12.